Incubation and 
Brooding 



Hs 



A Thorough and Practical Text 

on Incubation and Brooding. 

Invaluable to Any Poultry Man 

and Essential to a Beginner. 



By 

Earl B. Hawks, LL. B 

Author of 
''Science and Art of Poultry Cultun 
and Other Works. 



Price, 50 Cents 

Pubhshed by the Author, 1909 

Clinton, Wisconsin 




Class _2i]rAA5- 
Ronlc -H3 

Copght N" 



COPyPIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Incubation and 
Brooding 



A Thorough and Practical Text on In- 
cubation and Brooding. Invaluable to 
Any Poultry Man and Essential to a 
Beginner. 



By 

Earl B. Hawks, LL. B. 

I! 

Author of 
Science and Art of Poultry Culture " 
and Other Works 



Price, 50 Cents 

Published by the Author, 1909 

Clinton, Wisconsin 



r- . J ^ 



Copyright 1909 

BY 

Earl B. Hawks 



SEP 4 7909 



PREFACE 

The knowledge herein contained is given in the five- 
hundred page work on poultry culture entitled " Science 
and Art of Poultry Culture," by Earl B. Hav^ks, LL. B., 
but the call has been so constant for special information 
in booklet form that this edition was undertaken to 
meet this demand. It is the hope of the author that this 
booklet will give the reader a desire to study more 
deeply into the science of poultry and thereby become 
one of the fanciers whose success attest the practicability 
of raising good poultry. 

The Author 

Clinton^ Wisconsin. 



Poultry Books 

Any of the following works will be sent prepaid to any 
address. Each is new and meeting with wide recognition > 

Science and Art of Poultry Culture, By Earl B. Hawks, LL. B. 

A Practical and Scientific Textbook of Poultry Husbandry in Its 
Various Branches. 



1. 


Introductory. 


12. 


Poultry Houses, 


22. 


Preparing and 


2. 


Poultry Anat- 




Fixtures, Fences 




Marketing Poul- 




omy. 




and Yards. 




try and By- 


3. 


Classes, Breeds 


13. 


Conditioning and 




products. 




and Varieties of 




Exhibiting Poul- 


23. 


Carving a Fowl. 




fowls. 




try. 


24. 


Table Delicacies 


4. : 


Practical Princi- 


14. 


Poultry Judging. 




From Eggs and 




ples of Breeding 


15. 


Methods of Pre- 




Poultry. 




and the Man- 




serving Eggs. 


25. 


Ducks and Geese. 




agement of 


16. 


Food Value of 


26. 


Turkey Culture. 




Breeding- Stock. 




Poultry Pro- 


27. 


Guineas. 


5 


Egg Structure. 




duce. 


28. 


Raising Pigeons 




Formation and 


17. 


Capons and Cap- 




and Squabs. 




Germ Develop- 




onizing. 


29. 


Pheasant Culture. 




ment. 


18. 


The Crate and 


30. 


Accounts and Re- 


6. 


Incubation. 




Milk Feeding 




cords. 


7. 


Brooding. 




Industries. 


31. 


Advertising. 


8. 


Foods and Feed- 


19. 


Marketing the 


32. 


Organizing Asso- 




ing. 




Commercial Egg. 




ciations. 


9. 


Conducting a n 


20. 


Disposing of Eggs 


33. 


Vices, Enemies. 




Egg Farm. 




and Stock for 




Parasites and 


10. 


Five Methods of 




Breeding Pur- 




Diseases of 




Selecting the 




poses. 




Poultry; Their 




Laying Hen. 


21 


The Day Old 




Proper Treat- 


11. 


Molting. 




Chick Industry. 




ment. 



33 Chapters, Cloth Binding-, 12nio., Price $2.00. 

Incubation and Brooding, By Earl B. Hawks, LL. B. 

Taking up this most difficult branch of the poultry business in 
a way to bring success to the operator. Principles are fully ex- 
plained. 

Price, 50 cents. 

Aids for Poultrymen, By Earl B. Hawks, LL. B. 

Containing*: 

Poultrymen's Chart, Poultry Anatomy Chart, How to Line- 
Breed, Obtaining High Fertility in Eggs, Determining Sex and 
Fertility Before and During Incubation, Balancing Food Rations 
for Poultry, " Perfect " Poultry Food at Low Cost, Five Methods 
of Selecting the Laying Hen, An Excellent Home-made Trap-Nest 
Plan, Ways to Determine Age of Fowls, The Art of Preserving 
Eggs, Destroying Mites and Lice, and the use of Disinfectants. 
Price, 75 cents. 

Address, Earl B. Hawks, Clinton, Wisconsin 



INCUBATION. 

General. 
In suggesting a few of the principles of incubation 
we would 'desire the reader or student to realize how 
little is really known about the subject. One investi- 
gator believes he has solved aright certain elementary 
principles while another obtains the same results in an 
entirely different and seemingly antagonistic method. 
One believes that the cooling of eggs is a minor matter, 
another that it is all important. One supplies extra mois- 
ture, another does not. Some turn eggs kept before 
incubation, others deem it useless. One says a better 
hatch is obtained if the hen is denied free access to oyster 
shells, while another says nature will not allow the egg- 
shell to be unduly thick or hard. These and many other 
elements are the subject of much difference of honest 
opinion and we believe that science is traveling rap- 
idly toward the correct solution of these many problems. 
The investigations of the author have forced him to 
shift his position upon various matters of belief and 
unless one enters the subject of incubation with a mind 
open to conviction regardless of former ideas he or she 
will contribute but little to the advance of poultry science. 
Again one must realize that no one problem can be 
solved without taking many others into consideration 
at the same time ; hence, conclusions may be widely 
variant from the real truth and yet one be honest in 
reaching his decisions. 



6 Incubation 

However let no person hesitate because there are 
conflicts of opinion and unsettled or variant methods 
employed. Success is certain to one if due care and 
judgment are exercised in following any one of the meth- 
ods now in being, especially if he will intelligently handle 
the hens or follow the directions of the manufacturer 
of the incubator used. That either is no child's task 
would be well to remember. 

The science and art of artificial incubation is of 
ancient origin. In China and Egypt it was practiced 
before the Christian era in crude ovens and has become 
a distinct business zealously and secretly guarded, being 
handed down from father to son in many cases. In 
fact, the present chicken of Egypt is the exact proto- 
type of the carvings known to date back two thousand 
years before the Christian era. The native hen of Egypt 
has, centuries ago, lost her desire or instinct to sit. 
The same question has been raised in America and 
answered by the owners of long bred strains to the 
effect that the broody habit was being lessened from year 
to year. 

Incubation may be defined as the development of 
the fertile egg germ from its conception to the exclusion 
of the chick from its shell. Some may take exceptions 
to the point at which it begins and place it at a later 
time, but we prefer to think of it in the above manner, 
if for no other reason than to suggest earlier consider- 
ation and care than is usually given. 

Incubation may be either natural or artificial or a 
combination of both methods. The importance of either 
is little realized and the latter has supplanted the for- 
mer in* all large establishments. Whatever of disfavor 
artificial incubation may receive is due mainly to poor 
machines and ignorant operators. The percentage of 



Incubation . ' 

hatches raised to maturity with the same eggs and 
the same intelHgence will not differ by either method. 
It then resolves itself into other considerations which 
will be discussed later. 

The object of this chapter is to assist in obtaining 
better results in incubation, and before one sets their 
hens or obtains or uses a machine let them consider 
well such information as will enable them to better 
appreciate the hen and to purchase a better machine 
as well as to operate it more satisfactorily. Whether 
the natural or artificial method is employed, if fifty 
per cent of the original eggs used are incubated and 
raised to maturity, the operator should feel that he or 
she has accomplished average results. 

Eggs for Incubating. Kind and Care. 

The first consideration in choosing eggs for incubation 
is to select the class, breed and variety of fowl you wish 
to reproduce. Affecting that choice is the purpose for 
which you intend the product. Show stock, broilers, 
capons, eggs for market or other objects would mate- 
rially influence one's selection of eggs. That being de- 
termined a few principles should be kept in mind. 

If you desire certain knowledge of the source of your 
eggs the trapnest is essential. Select eggs that are 
uniform and normal in size and perfect in shape. When 
possible use the eggs of one class or breed since they 
will incubate more evenly. An ^g% that is small, large, 
thin-shelled or has lime in excess in the form of warty- 
like excrescences is very likely to be deficient in other 
respects. If intended for fancy chicks or flock improve- 
ment, evenness of color would also be considered. Eggs 
have been known to incubate after having been kept 
for many weeks. Age tends to weaken the germ life. 



8 . Incubation 

Two weeks under right conditions is as long as eggs 
should be kept and the fresher the better. Pullets' eggs 
do not throw as strong chicks as eggs from yearling 
hens, nor is the fertility usually as high. To insure a 




BUFF COCHIN CHICK. 
Courtesy of Dr. J. J. Hare. 

strong and fertile germ the parent stock should be 
prime, sound, healthy and vigorous and their breeding 
should be correct. Proper feeding is also one of the 
most important factors as an underfed or overfat hen 
cannot reproduce satisfactorily. 



Incubation 9 

The care of eggs intended for incubation is also a 
subject regarding which many differ. We will give gen- 
eral principles upon which the majority of breeders are 
agreed. See that they are gathered often as the weather 
will require. They must not be chilled. Keep them in 
a place where the temperature will stay around fifty- 
five degrees Fahrenheit and not vary more than ten 
degrees. Pure air without draughts is essential. Many 
lay a cloth or paper over them to insure protection. 
If the eggs have been sent from a distance or subjected 
to some disturbing motion allow them to rest a day 
before using. Handle as little as possible. Turn them 
or not as you desire. Personally we believe turning 
them occasionally is of some benefit if done gently. 
Just before placing in the incubator or under a hen 
many give them an antiseptic bath at a temperature of 
sixty degrees. This cleanses and disinfects the eggs 
and many claim much better results. It also lessens the 
danger of contagion from eggs shipped in from other 
pens. Many substances are used, chief among them a 
two per cent carbolic acid solution and a five per cent 
solution of pure creolin. About seven tablespoonsful of 
creolin to one gallon of water makes a good wash. 

Determining Sex and Fertility Before and During 
Incubation. 

Sex before exclusion is a subject which had better 
be left for further and more accurate investigation but 
to give a few ideas which have been put forward may 
result in more interest along this line. Many claim that 
sex is indicated by the shape of the Qgg, a roundish 
egg, more blunt if you please, is the tendency of eggs 
throwing pullets. Also that the most active embryo 
in point of development is apt to be a male. Many claim 



10 Incubation 

that the position of the air-cell indicates sex. They claim 
that the air-cell which has a base parallel to the. width 
of the Qgg will usually produce a cockerel, while the 
eggs, the base of the air-cell of which tend to vary wide- 
ly from such position, will throw a pullet. Others claim 
fairly good control in mating correctly for such re- 
sults, keeping in mind the age of the male and female. 
In many cases where pullets are desired satisfactory 
results have been attained by using the eggs produced 
during the first part of the laying period of a hen, while 
those eggs laid in the later portion tend to throw cock- 
erels. This is applying a known principle in animal 
breeding. This theory may be entirely thwarted in 
many instances by exceptional vigor in either male or 
female. 

Known fertility before incubation is claimed as fol- 
lows : Upon breaking a perfectly fresh egg and putting 
it under a magnifying glass the infertile egg shows 
simply a white disk marked with a number of irregular 
clear spaces. The fertile germ would have an opaque 
white rim surrounding a fairly transparent center in 
the middle of which is a lighter spot of variable ap- 
pearance. This can be of little practical value to the 
poultry raiser. A practical method is claimed as follows : 
Place the egg sidewise against the tester, or better yet, 
with the big end upwards. A strongly fertile germ will 
cast quite a shadow so that there is a discernable division 
between the yolk and the albumen wnth a darker spot or 
shadow at the genn centre which always floats at the top 
of the yolk. In the more weakly fertile egg germ this 
diistinction or division will be less marked, while in the 
egg with an infertile germ the contents will appear clear 
or milky with practically no distinction between the yolk 
and the albumen. This method is claimed bv manv to be 



Incubation , 11 

very accurate in the hands of an experienced person. 
Certain it is that a strong germ does have the tendency 
toward the above result which is increasingly true as in- 
cubation proceeds during the first few days. To what 
extent that light colored yolks or fertile germs whose de- 
velopment was less at the egg expulsion period would 
influence to a wrong decision the author is not yet pre- 
pared to state. The fertility of eggs during incubation 
will be treated under the testing of eggs later on in 
this chapter. 

Table of Time Required to Incubate Eggs. 

Time to incubate de- 
pending upon 
Kinds. breeds and varieties. 

Canary 15 to 18 days 

Chicken 20 " 22 " 

Duck 28 '' 30 " 

Goose :.....• 28 " 30 " 

Guinea 28 

Pea Fowl 27 to 30 " 

Pigeon 17 

Swan 40 " 45 " 

Turkey 28 '' 30 " 

Natural Versus Artificial Incubation. 

Where one wishes to raise but a few chicks and is 
satisfied to raise them during the regular broody season, 
there is no particular reason for not allowing them to 
have a natural mother. Again in the hands of busy per- 
sons who can give but scant care to a brood the mother 
hen might give better results. However, to the average 
poultry raiser, where more than one hundred chicks are to 
be raised, the incubator will appeal for the following 
reasons : 



12 Incubation 

Earlier hatching is possible. 

Higher markets are made available. 

Always ready when eggs are ready. 

Hen is kept in the producing yards. 

Capacity does not depend upon having hens to set. 

Requires less building space than hens. 

Good operator will hatch higher percentages. 

Less labor required for same capacity. 

Absolute immunity from vermin. 

No breakage or desertion by hen. 

Can have poultry ready for fall shows. 

Does not require two breeds to raise non-setting breeds. 

Cleaner work to care for same capacity. 

Natural Incubation. 

Breeds — Choose a breed and strain of that breed which 
produces good sitters and good mothers. Do not set 
a fussy hen which is quarrelsome and easily disturbed. 
Rather take the quiet, docile hens so that breakage and 
loss by trampling is reduced to a minimum. 

Nesting — Any nest made roomy and hollowed out 
so that the eggs can neither roll out nor pile up will be 
serviceable. The materials are not important so long as 
they are not harsh or disagreeable. Put in the bottom 
a little earth, or many prefer the nest upon the ground 
if it be in a dry place. Do not make the nest in a box 
where the hen does not have sufficient room to turn 
around without forcing her to be awkward thus en- 
dangering the eggs. Old barrels make fairly good nests. 
When the nest is complete sprinkle into it a little sul- 
phur, powdered tobacco, or insect powder. Lice and 
chicks are difficult to brood together. 

Place — The place is not so important if it be dry 
and not subject to draughts. It should be apart from 
other poultry or other broody hens. It should be 
free from rats and similar prowlers. If several nests 



Incubation 13 

are desired in one room or building, each hen should be 
fastened into her own nest, or careful watchfulness 
given, to see that no eggs are left uncovered because 
of two hens seeking one negt. 

Setting the //^;i— Having chosen a hen dust her well 
with insect powder and remove her at night to her 
new quarters. She will rarely give any trouble about 
sitting where she is placed. If she is not inclined to 
be satisfied, shut her in for a few hours until she set- 
tles down to business. Give her an egg and if she is 
alone let her out to feed and water twice a day. If 
warm arrange water in her nest to save bowel trouble 
from overdrinking. If she does not show a tendency 
to return to her nest, gently catch her and replace her 
on the nest or its edge and allow her to settle. If after 
two days she still gives trouble, discard her as she will 
doubtless be easily disturbed and be of little value as 
a sitter. If she is entirely satisfactory you may now give 
her the eggs you desire her to hatch. Do not give too 
many eggs. Fewer will give better results. 

Feeding~V\2.CQ good grain, grit, green food and water 
where the hen can supply herself with what her nature 
demands. If she cannot be trusted to leave her nest 
at will, give her attention at least twice a day in warm 
weather and see that she has water within reach of her 
nest. 

General Car^— Test out the eggs at the same periods 
as incubator eggs are tested and, unless it is in a very dry 
climate or a dry season, do not supply rnoisture. If in a 
dry place sprinkle the material under the eggs with 
warm water twice during the last week just as the hen 
goes back to her nest. The time is important so that 
evaporation will not cool the eggs unduly. Dust the 
hen again well about three days before time for her 



14 Incubation 

to hatch her brood. Do not let any opinion interfere 
with the dusting of the hen with hce powder at the be- 
ginning and end of the hatch. 

Taking off the Hatch — Prepare a warm dry coop in 
a place free from draughts and vermin. Gently remove 
the hen and her brood after you are sure the incubation 
is complete. Place them into the coop prepared and 
give them plenty of fresh water but no food for at 
least two days. See that they cannot wander away 
from the coop and do not fail to shut them away from 
all night intruders. 

Artificial Incubation. 

TJie Machine — In buying an incubator do not fail to 
get the best, as they are far the cheapest, regardless 
of the relative price one pays. Pay no attention to the 
fairy tales in the advertising but go over the various 
makes, point by point, and advise with others using the 
different machines. What follows may assist in de- 
ciding. No machine has brains. Do not expect a ma- 
chine to be satisfactory unless you follow explicitly 
the manufacturer's directions in unpacking, setting up 
and operating. Different makes of machines cannot 
be operated in the same manner. Their circulatory sys- 
tems may be vastly different. The details of some ma- 
chines are valuable time and labor savers. While gen- 
eral principles of all machines are alike yet the appli- 
cation of principles vary. 

No success can come to an operator whose habits and 
attention are irregular and whose memory is uncertain. 
Do not abuse a machine and blame the maker. A poor 
machine will hatch well the first season and under good 
conditions, a good machine will hatch well for many 
seasons and under more unsettled conditions. Detailed 



Incubation 15 

instructions are with every machine and are usually very 
plain and simple. Do not purchase too small a machine, 
as the cost of a larger one is but little more, the cost 
of operating it is not much higher if any, and it will 
hatch few or many eggs. It is very hard to dispose 
of a small machine in the event one wishes to replace it 
by a larger one. Again do not show each friend how the 
machine works, if to do so requires touching it. The 
machine should be level to insure an evenness of tem- 
perature in the egg chamber. If you have no spirit 
level use a pan of water, which for the purpose will do 
very well. 

The Main Objects to Be Attained — In all artificial 
incubation, as in the natural, certain objects must be kept 
in mind for success as follows : 

1. To keep a uniform temperature of the eggs at 
the required degrees. 

2. To furnish pure air in a correct current. 

3. To control evaporation. 

4. To prevent the tgg contents from remaining in 
one position. 

The Essentials of a Machine — There are many essen- 
tial parts to a machine as well as many minor parts 
which are important because they tend to save or hin- 
der by the handiness of their construction. In obtain- 
ing an incubator these minor matters should receive some 
consideration. 

The case or body should be made of good substan- 
tial material, well joined and well insulated so that 
it will heat evenly and easily when once warmed through. 
Its shape is unimportant. The egg chamber and nurs- 
ery chamber should be roomy. 

The regulating device is the brain of the machine 
and is usually its weakest point in that it will operate 



16 Incubation 

well under normal conditions but fails under certain 
variations. For example one machine has the smoke 
flue passing through the machine. In warm weather 
the heat of the smoke flue plus the heat generated by 
the chicks at certain stages is more than the machine 
requires, hence the regulator is valueless after a certain 
temperature is reached, and without special attention loss 
would result. Not all makes of machines with smoke 
flues passing through the machines are thus, yet caution 
is needed to choose the better ones. A regulator is really 
made up of several parts including the thermometer 
which enables the operator to adjust the device. The 
thermostat, the connection and the damper arm are other 
parts. 

The thermometer should be a good one and well 
tested. Sometimes it may have been handled roughly 
in transportation and the mercury separated, in which 
case it is easily joined by inverting the thermometer and 
starting the mercury downward into the top end un- 
til it fills the stem. Then by a downward swinging 
motion the main column will be driven against the sep- 
arate parts and united thereto. If not a complete suc- 
cess repeat the operation. The location of the ther- 
mometer varies in different machines. It may hang 
above, lay on or between the eggs in the egg chamber. 

The connecting rod and arm with a damper or other 
controlling device, are simple in principle, being governed 
by a thermostat of some kind. Thermostats differ wide- 
ly in kind and composition. The principle of expansion 
by heat pervades them all and its mechanical effect oti 
the connection and damper arm lessens or increases 
the heat units held for use. Some are round, concave, 
flat or corrugated disks of metal joined and sealed at 
the outer edges and containing a liquid which is verv 



Incubation 17 

volatile at a given temperature. One side of the disk 
is stationary and the other moves the rod or connection 
of the damper arm or other device used for the same 
purpose. The expansion of the liquid within the disk 
located in the egg chamber, governs the regulator's ac- 
tion. Other thermostats are made of metal only, having 
the action of a spring when expanded by heat. Many de- 
vices are used. The greater the expanding power of 
the thermostat when attached to a proper regulator 
mechanism, the more perfectly under control is the tem- 
perature of the egg chamber. Therefore it is clearly 
important to look carefully to this device for proper re- 
sults. It is the safety valve of the incubator. 

The heating parts of an incubator are present to hold 
the temperature of the egg chamber at an even and 
desired degree and in an effective manner. This is ac- 
complished in various ways and by various devices. Dif- 
fusion and radiation both contend for recognition with 
the former in the majority. Hot air, hot water, elec- 
tric and gas machines are on the market. The first two 
named are the most frequently found and heat the air 
or water above the flame, passing the heated current 
into the body of the machine in a manner to warm the 
egg and nursery chambers. Some machines have single 
pipes, some double pipes, some flat pan-like heating sur- 
faces as well as other variations of the same principle. 
Some pass a warm current of fresh air into the egg cham- 
ber and nursery while others simply radiate heat and have 
other means to supply air to those chambers. All have 
some form of heater about the flame, assuming many forms 
and many different positions upon the machine. The main 
consideration is handiness of access to fill and trim 
the lamp. The smoke flues of some machines pass through 
the body of the machines, while in some makes the 



18 Incubation 

smoke never enters the machine at any point. The lat- 
ter plan makes the regulation a little more certain .es- 
pecially in warm weather. The regulator on all ma- 
chines allows the excess heat to pass away from the ma- 
chine except on those machines where the regulator 
controls the amount of heat generated. Practically all 
machines grant the principle of overhead heating as 
best. 

The advocates of hot air machines claim that the warm 
fresh air diffused over the eggs at a right current, is 
the best method since it both supplies the necessary 
amount of oxygen to the germ life and also carries 
away by right ventilation the gases thrown off by the 
developing germ. They also do away with the labor of 
filling a water pan or tank as well as any danger of 
a leak. The hot water enthusiast claims a greater econ- 
emy of fuel, better circulation, and hence more even 
heat as well as less danger of loss since the water would 
hold the heat for a longer period in case of accident 
or neglect. Both methods are obtaining correct results 
but the majority of operators seem inclined to the hot 
air machines. 

In a heating lamp there is but one object and that is 
heat. Light is of no importance. The fuel may be 
anything which forms a gas and is made from many sub- 
stances, the most common of which is coal oil. Where 
natural or artificial gas is used a special burner is re- 
quired and will be furnished by the manufacturer. 
Where kerosene is used the lamp consists of a bowl 
or fount, a flue or chimney and a burner. The bowl 
need be no particular shape but should be large enough 
to necessitate filHng but once every day and should con- 
tain an inner division open at the bottom to reduce the 
danger of spilling by careless handling. The material 



Incubation 19 

may be glass or metal. The latter is less liable to break, 
but for convenience in filling should contain an extra 
large filling cap or a device, to show the amount of oil 
in the bowl or fount. A small air hole should exist in 
every filling cap for safety. 

The chimney or flue is more safe when made of metal 
than of glass. Glass might break at a time when no 
attendant was present and cause much loss of time and 
property. A metal flue should have a mica window to 
allow the attendant to notice the height of the flame. 
The flue should be of the size and shape to allow a proper 
draught of air to supply sufficient oxygen to the flame. 
If the flue should begin to accumulate soot and grease 
clean it thoroughly to avoid danger of fire. Some heat- 
ers contain the chimney or flue. 

The oil burner is the important element in a lamp and 
the greatest source of danger in a careless operator's 
hands. The story is ever old of lamp explosions and their 
results. The wick may be of various substances but no 
invention has ever displaced the cotton wick. Clean oil, 
a clean wick, and a clean wick-tube are essential. Do 
not burn a wick until it is short. Burners are usually 
of brass and the wick-tube should have a ventilating 
tube. The perforated base should be kept clean and open 
to the passage of air. The size of the burner should 
be governed by the heat required but should be of 
sufficient capacity to give the required heat without the 
necessity of using a high flame with its consequent dan- 
ger. The oil should be of the best with as little odor 
escaping as possible while burning. The flame is fed 
by a hydro-carbon gas formed at the base of the flame 
and being a miniature gas plant the generation should 
be under perfect control. The wick-tube becoming hot 
and forming an excess of gas is the real danger and to 



20 Incubation 

avoid this many devices are used to keep it normal. 
The cool air passing to the flame through the perfor- 
ations about the tube, metal tongues to dissipate the 
heat, water jackets about the wick-tube and many other 
methods are used to avoid this danger. 

The methods of regulating the heat supply also vary. 
Some allow the excess heat to escape into the outer 
air by means of an automatic damper, while others reg- 
ulate the height or size of the flame by a mechanical de- 
vice and by the old-fashioned way of trimming the 
wick to a point. Some combine two methods. 

Lamp boxes are of many kinds and in many cases 
economize oil, save accident, allow the lamp to be out 
of the way and make for a more uniform heat because 
the lamp is not exposed to outside atmospheric changes. 
The position and holding device of the lamp relative to 
the ease of attending it, is a very important factor when 
one must use it for any length of time. 

Another important feature of every incubator is the 
internal arrangement. Is the thermometer where it can 
be easily read? Is there a roomy tgg chamber? Is the 
nursery tray covered with cloth so the chicks will not 
slip upon it? Is there ample space between the egg tray 
when pushed back for the chicks to drop into the nurs- 
ery and to pass and repass next to the door without 
crowding and trampling each other? Is the circulatory 
system good? Are the trays and other parts handy to 
remove for necessary purposes? Are the trays sub- 
stantial and well adapted for ease of tgg turning? Is 
the heating device easily removed for cleaning in case 
of accidental smoking? Many matters have been omit- 
ted or lightly touched upon which are really important 
but enough has been suggested to show the importance 
of choosing a good machine regardless of price. 



Incubation 21 

Location of Machine— Tht ideal place to operate an 
incubator is where pure, fresh air is easily introduced 
without drafts; where some sunlight can enter, yet 
where sudden outside temperatures cannot vary a uni- 
form degree of the incubator room. Gases and burned- 
out air are injurious for egg and beast alike. A half 
cellar is a good place if ventilation is provided. A 
cellar, an inner room, a cave or other place can be used 
if they approach the requirements. Fluctuations of tem- 
perature and bad air are the most serious evils to be 
overcome. If placed in an ordinary cellar the fire in- 
surance policy should be examined and a permit be 
obtained if not already included in the policy. Ordinary 
tremblings or jars if not too sudden or severe have not 
proved injurious as successful incubation has been done 
adjoining a railway track where heavy traffic passed. 
If choice were involved a quieter place would be pre- 
ferred. Heavy electrical storms have been thought to in- 
jure hatches at certain delicate stages of development. 
Avoid hitting or otherwise jarring the egg trays or 
machine as the germ at certain stages of development 
is very sensitive. Therefore a roomy place is desirable. 
A location would also be better if arranged so that the 
temperature of the room could be kept in the vicinity 
of 70 degrees. 

Starting the Machine— U the machine is new, is set 
up and in place, cleaning and disinfecting are not 
necessary. If not then carefully dust and wash the en- 
tire interior until it is sweet and clean. Provide new 
burlap parts if necessary. Next paint the interior of the 
machine with a ten per cent solution of zenoleum or cre- 
olin. If they are not obtainable use a wash of mer- 
curic chloride. Directions for the use of the latter will 
be given by the druggist as the size and strength of 



22 Incubation 

the tablets or powder will determine the qua^itity to 
use. If it be a hot water machine fill the water p"an with 
reasonably hot water. The use of hot water enables 
the attendant to fill it without danger of its expanding 
and hence spilling and also allows the machine to 
warm up more quickly. Next close up the doors and 
inspect the heating appliances and the regulator. See 
that the thermometer is still correct by comparing it 
with a second thermometer in tepid or lukewarm water. 
Be careful about water being too warm or both instru- 
ments will be broken. Place one in its position in the 
egg chamber and the machine is ready for the lamp 
which should have a new wick and every part clean. 
Operate the flame moderately and never leave a machine 
until you are satisfied the flame is in full combustion. 
Often upon filling the lamp the full blaze does not be- 
gin for several moments after it is lighted, owing to the 
time required for the oil to climb the wick. If it is cold 
weather the machine may take more than one day to 
warm up. When it reaches the desired temperature ad- 
just your regulator and wait a day to see if everything 
is running well and the temperature remains steady. 
The eggs may now be placed in the trays. Do not try to 
place them in rows as more will go in when placed 
promiscuously. Close up your machine and do not touch 
the regulator when you find the temperature dropping. 
It will recover when the eggs get warmed through. 
If anything herein conflicts with the instructions given 
with the machine then follow the instructions explicitly. 
If desired pedigree trays can be employed to keep apart 
all chicks until they can be marked. 

Care of the Lamp — Each day the operator should 
note that the burner is clean and the wick well trimmed 
at filling time. Trim the wick, removing the charred 



Incubation 23 

portion by passing a match stem or back of a knife over 
the wick. Then give just a Httle attention to the corners 
that they be rounded or at least free from charred mat- 
ter. See that no crustations accumulate on the sides of 
the wick-tube. Always begin with a moderate flame 
and before leaving, adjust it to avoid smoking or over- 
heating. Use only the best oil as poor oil makes a bad 
odor. Before taking a lamp from a machine note the 
height of the flame and when replacing it attempt to 
turn the flame to the same height as before. If the 
pipes should become smoky clean them thoroughly at 
once. Never leave a lamp in a machine while not light- 
ed as the oil will draw up and on the metal and cause 
it to smoke and smell when next used. 

Temperature — To maintain an even and correct tem- 
perature requires careful ' and watchful attention. Note 
the paragraph on thermometers and see that no errors 
occur. If you are using a hanging or suspended regis- 
ter a different rule will be followed than when a con- 
tact register is used. In the latter be certain to keep 
the bulb upon a live germ. In the former be sure to place 
it where the directions indicate. Violent fluctuations 
or prolonged changes of temperature are usually very 
injurious especially at the earlier part of incubation. 
Authorities differ as to the exact degree yet are in ac- 
cord within certain limits. Beginning the hatch at from 
lOr to I02y2° seems to be the best for the first week, 
103° for the second week and until pipping time for the 
third week. If a contact bulb is used the temperature 
should be 3^° lower. During the end of the second week 
the temperature will rise, owing to the radiated animal 
heat from the embryos. Readjust the regulator and 
again at hatching time, note and meet the conditions 
arising from the heat generated at pipping time and also 



24 Incubation 

the loss of heat caused by rapid evaporation when many 
chicks are drying off at the same time. Do not be 
alarmed if the temperature runs up to 105° during the 
exclusion period. No harm will result and many claim 
that it is better. Hatches have been taken off where 
the chicks before, and at the time of exclusion, were sub- 
ject to a temperature of 112°. Certain it is that such 
treatment resulted in harm to the vitality of the chicks. 
Long drawn out and uneven hatches would indicate un- 
even temperatures during incubation. When incubating 
eggs of the Mediterranean breeds or other lighter va- 
rieties, a degree lower is often used with good results. 
If the chicks pant at the time of exclusion do not be 
alarmed, but they may need better ventilation or a little 
less heat if the temperature is running high. Unless 
one knows his business at this point it is better to fol- 
low the incubator instructions and not experiment. A 
high temperature at the beginning of a hatch is more in- 
jurious since the tissues are more tender at that pe- 
riod. Also in incubating duck eggs the temperature 
for the last three weeks should range ^° lower than that 
of hens' eggs for the second and third weeks. 

Turning the Eggs — Operators vary in methods of 
turning eggs during incubation, and some even go so far 
as to deny the necessity of such turning, but they are 
in the small minority. Avoid sudden or quick, jerky mo- 
tions in handling eggs. Begin turning the eggs about the 
third day and cease turning the evening of the eighteenth 
day for hens' eggs, or if duck eggs omit turning after the 
twenty-fourth day. Never touch an tgg with soiled hands 
nor after filling the lamps unless soap and water have been 
liberally used. Some turn the eggs once a day but the 
majority of operators turn them twice a day as nearly 
twelve hours apart as possible. Be regular in this work. 



Incubation 



25 



It is not necessary to turn the eggs over just half way 
in fact it is much better that they be turned differently 
each time. See that no eggs are left standing on end 
and do not try to keep the eggs in rows in the tray. 
Many patent devices are used to turn eggs, but none are 
as satisfactory as the hand method, especially with a 
slightly sloping tray. This is accomplished by removing 
to the ends the two middle rows of eggs next to the 




SINGLE COMB RHODE ISLAND RED. 
Courtesy of Lester Tompkins. 



partition and rolling the remaining eggs down toward 
the tray center with the flat of the hand. Many believe 
that the turning should be done just at the end of the 
cooling period and just before the trays are replaced. 
This method allows the contraction to take place first 
after which comes the movement of the embryo. In 
the double tray machines turn the trays end for end at 
night and from side to side in the morning after the first 



26 Incubation 

day. This evens up the temperature of the eggs regar4- 
less of where they were placed originally. In single 
tray machines end for end once a day is sufficient. Many 
operators in order to assist their memory write the word 
" night " on one end of each tray and thus see that the 
turning brings this word outward each evening. When 
replacing the eggs do not touch the regulator as the 
heat will soon bring the temperature to normal again. 

Cooling the Eggs — The importance of cooling has been 
largely underestimated in artificial incubation. A few 
manufacturers are emphasizing the importance of this 
fact. The relation of cooling to evaporation of moisture 
is not yet clearly defined but is an' interesting study. 
The aims and amount of cooling are difficult to clearly 
explain and much experimenting along this line is in 
progress. Certain it is that during the period of in- 
cubation a definite amount of heat is required to bring 
out a perfect or ripened chick, and that heat should be 
spread over the whole of the natural period as well 
as be balanced by a right amount of cooling. Proper 
cooling lends vitality to the embryo and by a gradual 
process accustoms the developing chick to the new 
world it is about to enter. The question of ventilation 
and oxygen supply enters here to a slight extent but 
under right conditions is of little consequence. 

The length of time cooling should take can be fixed 
by no exact rule. Experience will tell an operator much 
which cannot be stated. The " feel " tells its own story 
and takes into consideration the temperature of the 
room, the stage of incubation and the previous tem- 
perature of the incubator. The best one can do is to 
give approximate temperatures and let judgment act 
as a supplement. 



Incubation 27 

Daily Cooling Table. 

Room Operating Cooling Time 

^ X T^- X TTT 1 Second Week 

Temperature Temperature First Week ^nd Thereafter 

30 to 40 103 Degrees 3 to 5 min. 5 to 10 min. 

40 to 50 103 Degrees 5 to 10 min. 10 to 15 min. 

50 to 60 102^ Degrees 10 to 15 min. 15 to 20 min. 

60 to 70 102^ Degrees 15 to 20 min. 20 to 25 min. 

70 and above 102 Degrees 20 to 25 min. 25 to 60 min. 

The above will be the latitude usually given, but one 
must again follow instructions, as some machines have 
circulatory systems which do not require so much cooling 
of the eggs as do others. When using the suspended 
thermometer the above rule holds, while with a contact 
thermometer one degree lower within the machine is 
the rule. Unless the incubator cellar or room is free 
from draughts it is better to cool by simply leaving the 
incubator door open. The time spent in turning may 
be sufficient for the first few days and should be de- 
termined so that overcooling may not result. In test 
days do not cool. Begin to cool upon the second day and 
discontinue the evening of the eighteenth day except 
duck eggs, which discontinue upon the evening of the 
twenty-fourth day. 

Testing Out Eggs. 
The purpose of testing out eggs is to save infertile ones 
for commercial gain, make more room for fertile eggs, 
discard those whose germs have died, and more than all 
to better understand the many problems leading to 
stronger egg germs and better incubation. The lessons 
of testing and the deductions therefrom cannot be satis- 
factorily given in the form of photographs or cuts. Real 
experience in the testing room is the surest and most 



28 Incubation 

rapid method of education in egg testing. Do not he 
afraid of using a few dozen eggs in this work. 

The best time to test out eggs is in tlie late evening, 
thus doing away with the necessity of a special dark 
room. A tester is furnished with every machine and 
if not any tinsmith can make one from cuts shown in 
every catalogue of incubators. For daylight or night 
candling a pasteboard rolled into the form of a horn is 
sufficient. Place the egg into the small end and hold 
up to the sun or a lamp. In handling eggs do not use 
quick, violent motions as they injure the delicate struc- 
ture of the embryo. Allow no draught in the testing 
room. 

The temperature of the room should be about sev- 
enty degrees, but if it is not convenient to gain this tem- 
perature, test out at each cooling period until the test- 
ing is completed. Test out dark shelled eggs about the 
seventh day, light ones about the fourth day and re- 
peat the test at any time before the eighteenth day. 
Beginners should test more often and mark all doubt- 
ful eggs replacing them for future study. Be careful 
to keep a contact thermometer upon a live germ. Duck 
eggs can be tested as easily as the egg of the hen and 
about as early. 

In placing an incubated egg to the light it will show 
perfectly clear if infertile. If fertile a small dark spot 
will appear and a bulky shadow will also darken the 
interior. If well started the germ will have spider- 
like threads or blood lines radiating from it. If not 
clearly seen turn the egg slowly or reverse ends. Do 
not keep the egg held to the heat and light but an in- 
stant and use quiet motions in handling it. If a weak 
germ has started and died a dark red circle or circu- 
lar streak will appear, or perhaps a black spotted ap- 



Incubation 29 

pearance may be present if the egg is decaying. The 
second test should show a dark, well filled shell. Many 
will state that the first test ought to show the air cell 
to be about the size of a quarter of a dollar and at the 
second test the size of a half-dollar. Others will ad- 
vise that the air cell during incubation should occupy 
from one-third to one-fifth of the shell's space. If it 
varies either way there is too much or too little moisture. 
The beginner had better take all this advice but not use 
it, as there is no set rule which will apply to all kinds 
of eggs or under all conditions. In dry countries and 
in moist climates this will bear study, but in medium 
climates it is of much less consequence. 

Moisture and Ventilation — The questions of temper- 
ature, moisture, ventilation and cooling have much of 
inter-dependence. Circulation and humidity are really 
but ventilation and moisture in dififerent language. 
About these words there centers much of unknown in- 
terest to the student of poultry science, but in touching 
these questions herein only practical and elementary 
statements will be made. While temperature is ex- 
tremely important, so also is moisture and ventilation. 
The real object desired is to obtain proper ventilation 
in the egg chamber without an excessive current of air. 
Here also hinges the moisture question as it is the air 
current or circulation which robs the egg of its mois- 
ture if it be excessive. Some machines have special 
ventilators or air passages while others depend on pass- 
ing pure air through the machine. Some evaporation 
is necessary, so the real problem is to obtain tempera- 
ture, circulation, ventilation and evaporation combined 
to the right degree. In order to handle this problem 
in any intelligent manner one must consider the sea- 
son, air humidity, make of machine, room tempera- 



30 Incubation 

ture, room ventilation, and dozens of other minor mat- 
ters which have a bearing. Impure air is as fatal to a 
strong hatch as any other one cause. 

A query arises as to how one is to know when he is 
handling the moisture question aright. Given pure air 
by diffusion or otherwise in the egg chamber and a scale 
which will weigh to the ounce, the evaporation may be 
governed to a very practical degree as this subject is 
now understood. By weighing the eggs when they enter 
the machine upon a dry tray and weighing them at any 
later period the actual loss is readily obtained. If too 
dry moisture could be added or the circulation checked. 
By this means one could study the relative space ' oc- 
cupied by the air cell until he became proficient and 
could judge well enough for all practical purposes of 
the real condition and progress of the germ develop- 
ment. Moisture registers are now available. 

The evaporation of hen's eggs for the first nineteen 
days of incubation should be about sixteen per cent of 
the total weight at the beginning of the hatch. Duck 
eggs would require that about the twenty-fifth day. 
It also must be understood that evaporation should be 
slight at the beginning of a hatch and gradually in- 
crease. Many prefer that the first week should only 
have three per cent of the total of sixteen and then in- 
crease to about the fifteenth day, after which a slight 
decrease should result to the nineteenth day. Duck 
eggs really require a little more moisture and ventilation 
than do hens' eggs, yet cooling will often be neglected 
for moisture to the detriment of the hatch. 

The presence of too much moisture tends to not al- 
low the chick or duckling enough room in the shell to 
pip easily as well as weakens the constitution of the 
bird. Too little moisture renders them unable to get 



Incubation 31 

out of the shell after pipping in part and if excluded 
often becomes a cripple. In supplying moisture many 
methods are used other than lessening the air current. 
Many put the moisture into the machines while others 
keep water in or sprinkle the room. Except in dry cli- 
mates a properly ventilated machine will need no water 
within it and rarely needs it sitting in the room, although 
the latter method can do no harm and may often be 
of some real service. If the door of the machine shows 
a sweaty condition during exclusion or before do not 
let it trouble one as it will often appear under normal 
conditions. Do not open the door during the exclusion 
period, as more invisible damage will usually result than 
any good accomplished. If the birds pant they may 
need just a little better ventilation or the temperature 
may be running high. A machine with a fair sized 
nursery chamber is most desirable as the oxygen will 
be used up less rapidly. 

Hatching Time — Cease turning and cooling the even- 
ing of the eighteenth day. Push back the egg trays to 
allow ample room in the nursery front. Use any pedigree 
tray, thermostat guard or other appliance required 
and do not again open the incubator door until 
after exclusion. A chick is not worth helping out 
of the shell when the good of the entire hatch is 
considered. Because one or several do not die when 
the door is opened leads many to believe no harm comes 
of such act, the results of which are always in the fu- 
ture. The chicks ought to begin pipping on the twenti- 
eth day and be fully excluded upon the twenty-first 
day if all has been well before and during incubation. 
Hold the temperature steady until pipping begins when 
it may fluctuate as before described. If the chicks are 
excluded and dry and seem to need air fasten open the 



32 Incubation 

incubator door just a trifle or ventilate more freely. 
Allow the temperature to run down to 100° and if the 
room is 70° or above quickly take the chicks out of the 
incubator, place them into a lined basket, cover them 
over and take them to a brooder properly prepared for 
their reception. Some prefer to leave the wee birds in 
the incubator for two days. With correct care it is 
immaterial when they are transferred if they are all 
excluded and well dried off. Do not neglect to clean the 
machine at once after each hatch and when another 
hatch is to be put on begin as though the machine were 
not ready, which insures better results. One cannot be 
too particular in the care of a machine. 

What Causes the Developing Germ to Die in 
THE Shell.^ 

This question is constantly being asked and following 
are given some of the causes in brief form: 
Parent stock weak reproducers by inheritance. 
Parent stock imattire or diseased. 
Parent stock ill-fed, ill-bred, or ill-housed. 
Eggs saved too long. 

Eggs kept in wrong temperature before incubation. 
Eggs chilled before collecting. 
Eggs saved out of natural season. 
Forced feeding for eggs. 
Careless choosing of eggs. 
Handling eggs with oily hands. 
Impure air during incubation. 
Moisture improperly governed. 
Heat improperly supplied. 
Improper cooling. 
Drafts present at turning, testing or cooling time. 



PEERLESS POULTRY PLANT 

Breeders of Line Bred Barred Rocks. 

We are located at Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin, 
in a very rich farming country. Our plant is in the 
edge of the village, only six blocks from the depot which 
belongs jointly to the Chicago and Northwestern Rail- 
road, main line, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul 
Railroad. Every train on both roads accommodates 
passengers for Clinton. We have 25 mails each day. 
The Wells, Fargo and Company and American Express 
Company each have an office here. With such advantages 
we have an ideal location for our poultry plant, which 
is devoted exclusively to Barred Plymouth Rocks. Our 
plant is under the personal supervision of the poultry ex- 
pert and author, Earl B. Hawks, whose works and 
writings are known throughout America and Europe. 
Nowhere can we find more healthy or more vigorous 
breeding stock than in our yards. All our stock is bred 
by us and reared on range. In quality our " Peerless " 
Barred Rocks have no superiors, and anyone desiring 
birds for breeding or exhibition purposes can do no better 
than to call on us or write for prices. During the breed- 
ing season we can furnish stock or eggs for hatching 
purposes from breeding pens that are classic in shape 
and color as well as the best utility fowls on earth. Our 
hobby is to satisfy customers by giving high quality at 
right prices. All visitors welcome. 

PEERLESS POULTRY PLANT (INC.) 
Clinton, Wis. 



BROODING. 

The subject of brooding is of equal importance with 
that of incubation. It is an old saying that " a chicken 
well hatched is half brooded." 

Brooding is a term used to indicate the developing of 
the young of fowls from their incubation to their matur- 
ity. It is a comprehensive term and includes every environ- 
ment which makes for better or for worse in the younger 
life of a fowl. In treating this subject the reader's knowl- 
edge of brooder houses will be assumed as it properly 
comes under poultry house construction. That success- 
ful brooding is confined to a few principles carefully 
applied does not seem to lessen the unnecessary loss so 
prevalent in the poultry business, although a gratifying 
tendency toward better results is in evidence throughout 
the entire country. 

Natural and Artificial Brooding — Brooding may 
properly be divided into natural and artificial brooding; 
the former by the female fowl, the latter by many meth- 
ods which really are one with the former in principle 
and practice. In choosing which method is the better 
one must consider each individual case since the number 
of young to be reared, the experience of the operator, 
the room available, the equipment obtainable, the ques- 
tion of labor assistance, and many other problems are to 
be weighed and considered carefully. Where but few are 
to be rear-ed it may be more economical to brood by the 



36 Brooding 

natural method. The main claim for the natural mother 
is in the care and teaching she gives her young at the 
approach of a storm or other danger, the hovering when 
the young express a desire for warmth and the teaching 
of the proper food her young should eat. The artificial 
brooding advocates follow with the argument that the 
brooder is always ready and willing to hover, does not 
drag the young in the dew and rain, lessens the danger 
of lice and mites, gives the young its choice of degrees 
of heat, makes the young more self reliant and domesti- 
cated and materially lessens the care expense when any 
numbers are considered. 

Mortality in the Brooding Period and Causes — The 
loss of young stock during the brooding period should 
not exceed over five per cent of the total hatch under 
normal conditions. By normal condition is meant the 
exercise of knowledge in a careful and practical way. 
The science and the art of brooding should be combined 
to a reasonable extent and good results are bound to 
come. 

In showing some of the causes of chick mortality we 
will divide them into two main classes, which relative to 
brooding will be designated as primary and secondary 
causes. The former are controllable before brooding, 
the latter during brooding. The one is beyond the brood- 
ing operator, the other entirely within his control. The 
loss which can be blamed to the one or the other cause 
is not always easy of recognition. No brooding can 
make a success of a chick not well incubated. 

Primary Causes — 

Unsound parentage from breeding or age. 
Unsound parentage from care and feeding. 
Eggs poorly selected and poorly kept. 
Improper incubation for any reason. 



Brooding 37 

Secondary Causes — 

Enemies like hawks, crows, rats, foxes, weasels, etc. 

Too much heat or cold and draughts. 

Ragged brooder curtains and carelessness in handling. 

Stealing, sudden storms, wet grass, etc. 

Open holes, open water barrels, watering receptacles, etc. 

Overcrowding and consequent trampling. 

Lack of fresh air and pure drinking water. 

Mash feeding when great care is not exercised. 

Improper feeding of grass, grains, meat and too little grit. 

Lice, mites and other parasites and diseases. 

Allowing larger sizes to run with smaller sizes. 

Many other causes may be enumerated, but enough have 
been cited to impress upon the operator that to begin 
with good, strong, vigorous chicks is one half of the 
brooding, and that the secondary causes are well within 
his or her power to overcome. A primary cause is 
often present with a secondary one and is a favorite 
excuse with some operators to shift the blame when it 
really is brooding neglect that is at the base of all the 
trouble encountered. 

Natural Brooding. 

Natural brooding in most cases follows the incubating 
period of the mother. In many cases a few hens are 
set at the same time as an incubator and all the incubator 
chicks are divided among the hens, giving to each from 
twelve to twenty-five according to her size and disposi- 
tion. As a rule fifteen should be the Hmit to any one hen. 
Many times when the incubator is about to hatch, a few 
quiet sitting hens are procured and given an Ggg or two 
apiece from the incubator and allowed to hatch them out. 
Nearly all the hens will adopt the baby chicks and they are 
then given those from the incubator. Capons have been 
thus used, being motherly in their disposition. One should 



38 Brooding 

iiever use a sitting hen with scabby legs or other diseases. 
A hen which has not incubated her own eggs for the 
natural period rarely ever stays with her chicks as 
long as does the hen having fully incubated her flock. 

Place — It is essential that the hen be restrained either 
by the limits of the coop or by a yard small enough so 
that the chicks may not suffer from the wet grass, rains, 
and too much exercise. Have the coop dry, warm, well 
ventilated, without draughts, ratproof, and easily cleaned. 
Keep it on fresh ground and well cleaned at all times. 

Feed and Water — The same care should be given the 
chicks as given in the artificial brooding. The brooding 
hen should be given grain and water and such other feed 
as will keep her in condition for her duties. Perhaps 
one of the strongest reasons for failure in natural brood- 
ing lies in too little attention being given to the manner 
of feeding and the amount of food given. It is quite 
essential that the feed be of the right amount and kind 
and still more important that it be where the mother bird 
is not able to deprive the chicks of their rightful share. 
Again a foul place to feed arising either from droppings 
or a soured feeding place will bring disease and its con- 
sequent loss. If one cannot use a separate compartment 
in which to feed the chicks it is best to have a pail of 
whole grain from which to feed the adult fowls so that 
the brood may have a better chance to obtain the food 
intended for them alone. Watch that the drinking 
founts do not become unfit for use. 

Development — As to general care and treatment every- 
thing which applies to the artificial brooding will also 
apply to the naturally brooded chick. The separation of 
the sexes, the weaning, the feeding to attain a certain 
object are the same in either case. 



Brooding 39 

Artificial Brooding. 
Artificial brooding has long been practiced even before 
artificial incubation came into existence. Some of the 
old fashioned ways were quite as successful if not as 
convenient as the later methods. Artificial brooding has 
become quite necessary to breeders who raise poultry in 
large numbers and at a time of year when hens are not 
obtainable. For the commercial broiler and duck raisers 
they are indispensable. In fact but few poultry farms grow 
the young stock in any other way than by artificial means. 
It is a delightful sight to see a brooder full of happy 




single comb black ORPING'ION. 
Courtesy of Foxhurst Farm. 

and contented chicks lying stretched out upon the floor of 
the hover. On the other hand no more pitiable sight could 
exist for the lover of poultry than to see a listless, uneasy 
brood, going through the varying periods of chilling, 
sv/eating, and struggling for existence due to an ignorant, 
careless operator, especially when one knows that it has 
an uneven battle for life. Give a healthy chick half a 
chance for life and it will win, but to confine it in a death 
trap in which no form of animal life could long survive 
and expect it to develop is to be both ignorant and cruel. 



40 



Brooding 



Essentials of a Cold Brooder — Operators are claiming 
success in the use of a brooder which is supplied with tio 
artificial heat even in zero weather. The aim is to retain 
the body heat of the chick for its own benefit by means of 
a warm hover which is insulated against changes of tem- 
perature from without and at the same time conserving 




A VETERAN BARRED ROCK 

the body heat within. If entirely practical when rightly 
handled it would have many advantages. We merely give 
the principle as above stated pending further experi- 
ments, therefore we decline to doubt the sincerity of 
either its advocates or its critics. All other elements of 
brooding would be in common with warmed hovers as 
found below. 

Essentials of a Warm Brooder — In purchasing a 
brooder one should correctly understand what constitutes 
its essentials and to do this is to keep well in mind the 
object to be attained. The construction of the various 
parts of the brooder should allow certain results to be 
easily and certainly attained. 



Brooding 



41 



There should be a steady flow of properly warmed, 
fresh air supplied by overhead diffusion so located and 
protected that the chick can easily find the source of 
warmth as well as be able to get away from it when 
uncomfortable. To secure this the lamp, heater and 
piping should be examined and if inadequate should be 




ROSE COMB RHODE ISLAND RED. 
Courtesy of Lester Tompkins. 

rejected. It is not important whether it be a hot water 
or hot air system but if the latter the supply of fresh air 
must be insisted upon. An accurate thermometer is very 
essential to a beginner, although the older operators 
watch their birds more than the reading of the ther- 
mometer. A regulator is also used by some. There 
should also be provided plenty of exercise and a choice 
of temperature secured by a hover, day or exercising 
room, limited run and yard. 

Ventilation should be carefully watched as pure, whole- 



42 Brooding 

some air is one of the main factors in all animal life. 
In the warm air brooders this problem is half solved tyat 
in every brooder other provision should be made to allow 
the exhausted air an opportunity to escape. 

Dryness, a reasonable amount of sunlight, roominess, 
an adequate place to feed and water, a movable device to 
keep the wee chicks within bounds and the entire brooder 
so built and arranged that it is easily cleaned, all these 
are well worth careful consideration. While a brooder 
is simple yet that simplicity is most exacting. 

Kinds of Brooders — Putting aside the different modes 
of supply heat among which are hot air, hot water and 
electricity, there are several styles of brooders in opera- 
tion, chief among which are indoor, outdoor, and plant 
brooders. The two former are usually individual and 
movable while the latter one is stationary and is usually 
spoken of as a brooder house. The brooder house is 
often a combination house and utilizes a portion of the 
floor for steam pipe or air heating over which is a hover 
arrangement to accommodate the chicks or other young 
fowls. These buildings often have more than one brooder 
floor or shelf, thus increasing the capacity by as many 
times as there are floors. This also lessens the care tak- 
ing to quite an appreciable extent. 

It is the main purpose here to divide brooders into two 
classes only, indoor and outdoor machines. By indoor 
brooders are meant those machines which are so built that 
some extra shelter from wind and storm must be pro- 
vided. It is usual to place them within a brooder house, 
protected shed or any other place where conditions will 
be favorable and the heat maintained to the right degree. 
A'ery few of them will maintain a correct temperature 
unless the chill be taken out of the room wherein they are 
located. The outdoor brooders are often recommended 



Brooding 43 

for both outdoor and indoor work, since it matters little 
what the temperature is without. Properly constructed 
they should give very little trouble even under adverse 
conditions. 

The question of a heating system in a building as com- 
pared with the individual brooder is largely one pertain- 
ing to the number of fowls to be kept and the operator's 
experience. Where the stock to be raised will only num- 
ber a few hundred it doubtless is economy to use individ- 
ual brooders, since it costs as much to warm up the 
system for a few fowls as for the full capacity. However 
where many are to be raised the system is essential to 
economy. In the individual brooder a mistake or ac- 
cident affects only the one brood while a similar trouble 
in the system affects the entire output. 

Setting Up a Brooder — If the machine is purchased of 
a manufacturer do not assume to be able to set it up with- 
out carefully reading over the printed instructions. 
Many errors and faultfindings are due to this one cause 
and no matter how familiar one may be with brooders 
the instructions of the manufacturer may be able to save 
time and needless criticism. 

Capacity of a Brooder — Apparently contradicting the 
thought expressed in the preceding paragraph we 
now caution the operator against one of the greatest 
evils of artificial brooding, that of overcrowding. When 
any manufacturer claims that any one compartment hover 
will accommodate more than fifty chicks at one brood- 
ing it is time that the individual should exercise some 
sound judgment on his own account and save consequent 
suffering and loss among the brood. The claim of the 
average manufacturer should be reduced by one-half. 
Each justifies himself in his false claim upon the ground 
that he is rating his machine according to the standard 



44 Brooding 

set by other manufacturers. In no way is it justifiable es- 
pecially in the light of the fearful chick loss caused %y 
the consequent overcrowding. Fifty chicks in one hover 
is the outside limit that should be allowed and fewer 
would give better results. A liberal floor space under 
the hover, a spacious nursery or exercising room which 
is cooler than the hover, and later a run are all very 
important to successful poultry brooding. 

Locating a Brooder — Indoor brooders during cold 
weather should be placed in a room or building with 
some provision for heating it to about seventy degrees. 
If it is late spring or summer any place protected from 
the sun, storm and wind will be sufficient. Placed in 
brooder house runs the machines are easily cared for and 
the chicks have their liberty even during stormy days. 
A colony house is an ideal place for a brooder if the 
floor space be large enough and the right temperature 
can be maintained. 

Outdoor brooders may be used in any location desired 
although if one chooses the best ayailable place the chicks 
have that much more in their favor. Avoid extremes 
of sun and wind. Keep each size of chickens or duck- 
lings by themselves. Give every advantage to natural 
shelter in location, thereby saving fuel and possible dan- 
ger of lamps becoming extinguished. Be careful to 
choose level ground or use artificial means for that pur- 
pose. 

Preparing the Brooder — When the brooder has been 
chosen, set up and located, it should then be made 
ready for the brood at least a day in advance of 
the time needed for use. Start the iamp, taking 
every precaution used in the lamp and heater of 
an incubator. While the temperature is rising to the 
desired point scatter dry fresh sand or soil upon the floor 



Brooding 45 

of the hover and day room, covering it with a little fine 
cut clover or chaff free from barbs or thistles. This will 
allow dryness, exercise and cleanliness. Many use gravel 
instead of sand while some use grit in the sand. Many 
prefer to let the chick wait for its grit until time for its 
first feeding and then use it somewhat sparingly. Their 
reason is that many brooder chicks do not discriminate 
enough in their feeding and overload on bright,, attract- 
ive grit. When the temperature has risen to a proper 
point and the hatch is ready to take off place fresh water 
into a proper receptacle and the machine is ready for 
its downy dwellers. 

Temperature — There should be three or four different 
temperatures for each machine and its environment. The 
hover, the day or exercising room, the limited run and 
the yard should each have its own degree of temper- 
ature. The last two named in mild weather will be 
of like degree. This variation allows the young to 
choose their ow^n temperature fitted to secure comfort 
according to its size, weather and brooder conditions. 

The hover should not be a place where a healthy 
robust chick or duckling would wish to stay for more 
than a short time during the day. It should range 
warm enough so that a short day stay would suffice, 
and at night to allow of a well spread out brood. What 
this temperature ought to be is very hard to define, since 
like in human beings any two days might be widely 
variant. A damp, bleak day requires a higher temper- 
ature to maintain a certain degree of vitality than would 
a bright sunny day. Again during the winter months 
a different degree would be desired than would be 
necessary in warm weather. In the winter a dash from 
a cold run into the hover should meet with a quick 
warmth while on a mild day a lesser degree would warm 



46 Brooding 

up the young quite as quickly. These are matters of the 
judgment. This also explains why some authors advise 
a hover temperature of 90° while some advise as high 
as 105°. The happy medium for a beginner is from 
95° to 100° until one can learn from observation the real 
needs of the brood. 

Again as the brood grows older the need for arti- 
ficial warmth grows less and to obtain robust birds the 
heat must accordingly be reduced week by week until 
weaning time when it is entirely taken away and if 
deemed necessary a dummy hover used to keep the nat- 
ural body heat confined to some extent. The average 
heat reduction varies with different operators from 2° 
to 5° per week depending upon the weather and the 
season. 

It is better to carry too high a temperature than to 
allow the brood to huddle and crowd and then sweat. 
Too high a degree devitalizes, although better too warm 
than too cold. When they are comfortable they will be 
well spread out and peeping out of their hover. When 
they wander about, are listless, crowd and are complain- 
ing, attention should at once be given. Also remember 
that the flame or other source of heat should be ample 
to keep up the temperature in the early morning when 
the outside conditions are most unfavorable, the vitality 
of the brood is lowest and the oil and wick at least ef- 
ficiency. Control the temperature from the flame and 
ventilators. 

Teaching and Caring for the Brood — In handling a 
newly hatched brood intelligently one must understand 
that they come into the world motherless, with certain 
instincts more or less developed and at the mercy of 
the caretaker. They know nothing of the ways of their 
new world and must be taught. That they are apt pupils 



Brooding 47 

is needless to say. They have an instinct to move sHghtly 
upward when in motion, an instinct to eat and drink, 
an instinct for warmth, and an instinct or early habit 
formed to recur to the place where these comforts of 
life were once obtained. Therefore to take advantage 
of the last named tendency will save one much waste of 
time trying to change their early habits because they 
were not given somewhat permanent conditions the first 
few days. 

The first named instinct is often taken advantage of 
by placing the hover higher than the day room, also al- 
lowing an advantage of temperature. The hover teaching 
is best attained by leaving the brood in the incubator un- 
til they are about two days old so that they may be 
placed into the brooder toward evening in time to par- 
take of a light supper, fresh water and then at once 
be placed under the hover for their first sleep. Having 
been warm and comfortable during the night the ten- 
dency the next day is to return to the hover when chilly, 
and by a little close attention for the next two or three 
days they will care for themselves readily. If they have 
been neglected during that period and should have hud- 
dled in a sunny spot when chilly the recurrent tendency 
will exist for days. To teach them easily and save 
time the operator should have a small device covered 
with fine screening which will fit the hover so that when 
set in any position desired it will not allow the brood 
to get more than a short distance from the hover, or if 
desired quite confine them to the hover. By placing this 
in position the first evening one can rest assured that 
none of the brood will wander away and get chilled dur- 
ing the night and at the same time no air will be shut 
off. By giving more room about the hover each night 
the teaching is completed with very little effort. The 



48 Brooding 

same device is used during the day to place the brood 
entirely under the hover for a very short time until they 
have learned that the hover is die source of warmth. 
By gradually limiting their entrance to the day room, 
to the run and to the yard, only a short time will elapse 
until they are independent except in the case of sud- 
den storms, which is another new object lesson. Be on 
hand when it begins to sprinkle and drive the little ones 
into shelter at once. After a time or two they will at 
once seek shelter upon the approach of a storm. This 
is especially important in the case of outdoor brooders. 
The attendant whose personal comfort is placed above 
that of the brood will allow plenty of loss during severe 
storms. They easily drown while small and cold rain 
will also chill them. 

Many operators who raise but a few often assist the 
chick or duckling by dipping the beak into the water 
and tapping the floor to show them the food. We be- 
lieve both a useless practice and also impractical with 
large broods. Instinct will suffice for nearly all and 
the more backward ones have the example of the more 
forward ones. The teaching of the brood to come by 
call is accomplished by the voice, a whistle, tapping on 
a pail and numerous other devices. 

Watch every discomfort and especially any overcrowd- 
ing and correct them. Always shut in the brood at night 
to protect them against all kinds of enemies. Protect 
them against lice and mites, for even brooder chicks will 
sometimes become infested by means of the English 
sparrow. 

The care of the lamps and heating system is the same 
as with the incubator except that the outdoor brood- 
ers should receive closer attention during rough weather, 



Brooding 49 

and during hard storms the attendant should inspect 
them more often. 

The cleaning of the brooders should be regular. Twice 
during the first week, three times during the second 
and third weeks, and daily thereafter is sufficient. Air 
out the brooders daily if the weather and age of the 
brood allow. Sunlight is the deadliest enemy of poultry 
diseases known. Keep the brooder sweet and sanitary. 
If possible remove the hover for cleaning and airing. 
Do not throw the refuse upon the ground as the ground 
soon becomes filthy and unsanitary. Have a place for 
all refuse and at stated times place it upon the proper 
fields or sell it. Whenever a brooder becomes empty 
always disinfect it with any good disinfectant and air it 
out wtII before using again. Diseases such as white 
diarrhea will infect a coop or brooder for many seasons 
unless precaution is exercised. 

Watch the brood for the appearance of any disease. 
Bowel trouble is the one most likely to attack the brood 
and m.ay result from many causes, principal among which 
are weak parentage, improper incubation, wrong feeding 
or careless brooding. Make a study of any good work 
on poultry diseases and their remedies in order to be- 
come more capable of detecting any approaching trouble. 
Feeding and Exercise. 

Exercise is to the young of fowls just what it is to 
all warm-blooded life, an absolute necessity. Keep the 
brood busy and strength and vigor result. This is accom- 
plished by feeding in litter in the day chamber and run. 
At first place it only about a half inch deep increasing 
the depth each week. Some breeders will place an al- 
ternate layer of litter and feed to the depth of several 
inches and feed no more until it has been well gleaned. 
This method saves labor but is much discouraging to the 



50 Brooding 

weaker members of the brood. What kind of Htter to 
use is a pertinent query and inch-cut clover best an- 
swers it because of the food and medicinal value of the 
leaves. Any litter will do which does not afford too 
much irritating dust or barbs and is fine enough for 
ready movement by the brood. Litter placed upon dry 
soil or sand affords more exercise since the seed is less 
available by small effort. 

Feeding is a subject regarding which there are a great 
variety of opinions, yet when analyzed are all based upon 
common principles as will be seen on a study of our 
analysis of foods in '' Foods and Feeding." 

The young of any common fowl should not be given 
food at once upon exclusion, since just before hatching 
the yellow or yolk of the tgg is absorbed by the de- 
veloped embryo and retained by it for use as a food for 
the first few days of its free existence. To introduce other 
food into its system before this yolk has time to absorb 
is to do for the newly hatched fowl what severe bilious- 
ness does in the human family. By giving the system 
time to digest this food provided by nature the start in 
life will be vigorous and responsive. 

The first food should be given at the end of the sec- 
ond or third day and should be doled out sparingly. 
Water, fresh and pure, should be given freely from the 
first and kept constantly within their reach. Charcoal 
' and cut clover should also be a daily supply. Grit of such 
size as can be easily swallowed should be supplied early. 
Some claim they should have all they can be induced to 
eat before any food is given. Others claim such a course 
leads to disaster because the wee birds do not know when 
to stop eating the attractive looking objects. We believe 
in a liberal allowance in the food for a few days, then 
placed before them in a hopper. 



Brooding 51 

Besides water, grit, clover, charcoal and shell a cor- 
rectly balanced ration for complete and normal devel- 
opment is necessary. Note under " Foods and Feeding " 
a discussion of balanced rations. The controversy over 
dry and wet mashes is unnecessary as either method is 
correct if properly handled. In wet mash feeding it 
is quite essential that only enough be given to satisfy 
the appetite, thus insuring a clean place to feed again. 
All dishes, pails and feed troughs should be well cleaned 
each day. It is the decomposing matter in the cracks 
and crevices that harbor bacteria so deadly when put 
at work in the digestive tract of a little bird. In dry 
mash feeding this danger does not seem to exist to the 
same extent. 

Weaning. 

Weaning in connection with brooding by either nat- 
ural or artificial means is the gradual process of re- 
ducing the supply of exterior heat to the point of total 
extinction. 

Under the mother the brood gradually outgrows its 
quarters and only by crowding one another away can 
a temporary shelter under the mother wing be enjoyed. 
This process alone tends to wean the brood until a point 
is reached where the mother refuses longer to be thus 
abused and returns to her former childless world. If the 
natural mother hurries this weaning she can still be made 
to hover them at night by confining her in the coop in 
which her brood stays, and if she will not allow them 
to enter such coop then she must be discarded and a 
cloth hover afforded until such time as the brood can 
shift for itself at night. 

In the artificial brooding it is a question of heat re- 
duction week by week, as explained in " Temperature," 
until they can do without any artificial supply unless 



52 Brooding 

a cloth hover be furnished to retain their own body heat. 

The weaning should be a gradual hardening process 
so that no sudden change will check or stunt the rapid 
and vigorous development of the brood. Pay the clos- 
est attention to their feeding and comfort at weaning 
time. Therefore no set time, limit or age can be given 
for weaning since the breed, the season of the year and 
their general development would govern in large meas- 
ure. Six weeks might be a fair age in warmer weather 
and mild climates while ten weeks might be required 
in cold seasons and farther north. Again judgment 
must be exercised for the best results. 

About this time if the weather is moderate the brood 
will begin to show a tendency to desire a roost. A low 
roosting bench may be given and in a few days the cloth 
hover may be taken out entirely. Nearly all the half 
grown chickens will seek the low roosts given them. 
The roosts may be left out a few days until the colony 
house shall be occupied if the brooder is otherwise lo-* 
cated. The last step in passing from a brood to a grown 
flock is the putting them out into colony houses upon free 
range, if possible each sex by itself. Do not put into each 
house more than twenty-five birds and even less would 
be better. Ducklings need only a little litter to sit upon 
but should be kept in a cleanly condition. 

Separating the Sexes. 

At or soon after weaning time the young males begin 
to show signs of sex awakening and begin to develop 
their combs and wattles. They become important and 
quarrelsome if kept with the females and cause the lat- 
ter needless worry which retards development. When 
apart both sexes do better and are more easily and eco- 
nomically kept, unless intended for breeders. 



